Doña Lupita was an elderly lady who lived alone in a small house in the village of Loma Blanca. She retired after teaching agricultural engineering for thirty years in the local university, where she extolled the virtues of avocados as a cholesterol and sodium-free alternative to processed foods. Her research revealed avocados are a good source of over twenty essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that contain antioxidants and strengthen the body’s immune system. She took pride in the avocado tree her father had planted in front of their house when she was a little girl. Growing at the top of the tall tree was an avocado she named Alfonso.
Alfonso was the largest avocado on Doña Lupita’s tree, gathering energy from the sun and nourishment from the abundant rainfall at night. But he was not happy. The other avocados were harvested because they were close to the ground, bringing pleasure to those who enjoyed the taste of this healthy fruit. All Alfonso could do was wait and hope that someone would select him.
Then one day, when Doña Lupita was tending flowers in front of her house, a young man approached her. He was part of a gang of robbers that roamed the countryside looking for vulnerable victims. He threatened to harm her if she didn’t give him all her money. She refused to give him anything but a “swift kick in the pants” and screamed for help as the young man began punching her with his fists.
Alfonso heard the struggle below him, and in an instant knew what he had to do. He asked the wind to blow, and he bounced up and down until his stem snapped. He began to fall, faster and faster, reaching terminal velocity (about 92 mph) just before he struck the robber in the head, knocking him unconscious and saving Doña Lupita.
After a police officer arrived and placed the bad man in his vehicle, he prepared an incident report. At first, the policeman thought that Doña Lupita was hallucinating after being traumatized during the assault, until the facts were confirmed by Doña Lupita’s neighbors—the young hoodlum was beating her, and they felt a strong gust of wind followed by a loud popping noise after which the avocado fell from the treetop and knocked the robber unconscious. This description was memorialized by the police officer and sworn to by the witnesses.
Later, Doña Lupita planted Alfonso’s seed beside her house, and the avocado tree grew tall and healthy. And from that day on, when neighbors and visitors passed her house, they repeated the story as they had heard it from the police chief and his officers…of how a humble avocado had saved the life of their favorite neighbor. The legend of Alfonso would be repeated in schools throughout the land.
A polished limestone column with a bronze plaque attached was erected in the village square in honor of Loma Blanca’s famous scientist, Doña Lupita Tejada. She was portrayed on the plaque working at her desk with the likeness of Alfonso the Avocado sitting on the desk beside her. Below their images was her favorite quote by Isaac Newton: “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.”
A reporter asked Doña Lupita if the story was true about Alfonso saving her life. She winked and said, “Avocados are not only healthy, but they can save your life.” Alfonso Junior, who grew atop the second avocado tree, puffed up with pride and grinned as only an avocado can.
